Boyega will play the son of Idris Elba's character.

After his lead role as Finn in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” John Boyega already has a few projects lined up for the future. He’s set to appear in James Ponsoldt’s new film “The Circle,” based on Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name, and will voice Bigwig in the new “Watership Down” BBC One/Netflix animated miniseries. Now, Deadline reports that Boyega has signed on to play a lead role in the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim.” Boyega will play the son of the character played by actor Idris Elba (“The Wire”) in the original film.

The “Pacific Rim” sequel will be directed by Steven S. DeKnight in his feature-length debut. He is best known for being the creator, writer, and executive producer of the Starz series “Spartacus.” He also was the showrunner for the first season of Marvel’s “Daredevil” series, and has written episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” and “Smallville.”

Previous to “The Force Awakens,” Boyega made his film debut with Joe Cornish’s “Attack the Block,” about a teenage street gang who fights against predatory alien invaders. He also appeared in Biyi Bandele’s “Half of a Yellow Sun,” Malik Vitthal’s “Imperial Dreams,” and had a recurring role on the limited event TV series “24: Live Another Day.”